Aleramici
The Aleramici were a Northern Italian princely and royal dynasty of Frankish origin. They ruled over various northwestern Italian principalities in Piedmont and Liguria from the 10th to the 17th century, as well as over the Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Thessalonica from the 12th to 13th centuries.
Considered one of the foremost crusader dynasties, the Aleramids notably extended their influence across the Eastern Mediterranean, thrice appointed as successors to the Eastern Roman Imperial throne, without ever ensuring their effective installation. They nevertheless produced two Imperial consorts, one of which effectively ruled over part of the Empire under the title of Augusta. Other females of the dynasty also appear as consort-regents in several European states.
The Aleramids were only later named as such by historians seeking to identify the extensive lineage derived from the Frankish Count Aleramo, proclaimed first sovereign Marquis of Western Liguria by the Emperor Otto the Great in the year 967. Further research has allowed the division of the lineage into two main branches: the senior Marquises of Savona '', and the junior Marquises of Monferrat. The last became extinct during the 14th century in the Empress Irene. The senior line of Savona carried on through multiple descending branches, mainly ruling over the Marquisates of Saluzzo and Finale until the 17th century.
Broadly, their decadence in Northern Italy can be linked to the communal movement and the consecutive loss of Imperial dominance in the region in favor of Papal or Ecclesiastical rule. By the 13th century the Aleramids had lost most of their territorial sovereignty in favor of the Republic of Genoa and the Duchy of Milan. Some late exponents appear as vassal-lords to the Dukes of Milan and of Savoy, while others became sovereign patricians of the Republic of Genoa. Several others relocated to the Kingdom of Sicily where they continued to exercise a notable influence. One branch remained in service of the Holy Roman Empire until their extinction in the 18th century.
The Aleramids are ancestors of most European royal families.
History
Count William I
The oldest known member of the lineage was the Frankish Count William, first mentioned as the father of Aleramo in the year 951. He is thought to have been the same Count Wilhelmus indicated as "dilectissimi fideles" of the Kings Hugh of Italy and Rudolph II of Burgondy in the year 924, as well as the same Frankish Count Wilhelmus who, according to the Gesta Berengarii Imperatoris, crossed the Alps at the head of 300 Frankish knights in the year 888 in aid of Guy III of Spoleto during his quest for the Iron Crown. Although it is not clear which were the specific territories that he inherited to his son, an Imperial charter of the year 967 suggests that William passed down a substantial patrimony dispersed through the Carolingian Kingdom of Italy.Aleramo I, First Marquis of Western Liguria
Aleramo, who identified himself as a member of the Salic nation and follower of the Salic law received from King Hugh of Italy a similar treatment as his father, extending his domains in the Piedmont and Western Liguria through different donations occurred between 933 and 938. It is still undetermined who was Aleramo's first wife and mother of all three of his children, considered by Jacob of Acqui to be a certain princess Adelasia, daughter of the Emperor Otto the Great. Acqui's fanciful story gave rise to a much extended myth regarding Aleramo's legendary origins and unproven imperial marriage. Aleramo's second marriage nonetheless proves his insertion amongst the Anscarids, one of Medieval Europe's most prestigious royal dynasties. Shortly after the ascent of Berengar II to the throne of Italy, Aleramo married the princess Gerberga, the King's daughter. In the year 961, Gerberga is mentioned as stepmother to Aleramo's children, themselves styled stepchildren, and thus known to have proceeded from his previous marriage. In the same charter Aleramo is first mentioned as Marquis, suggesting the importance of the marriage in the concession of his new rank. On 10 April 967 the Emperor Otto the Great issued a charter confirming Aleramo in all his domains, counties and jurisdictional courts, alongside the then princely title of Marquis, as petitioned by the Empress consort Adelaide, daughter of Rudolph II.The first Aleramici
Since 967, the Aleramici preserved their forefather's territories alongside the title of Marquis, or Margrave in the Holy Roman Empire. According to Salic Law, the Frank's fiefdoms had to be either shared or equally divided amongst male descendants, leading to the fragmentation of the Aleramid's power and their forefather's principality. As evident in the foundational charter of the Abbey of Grazzano, Aleramo's firstborn son died in youth without having produced any offspring, while the third-born, Otto I, also died before his father but did managed to produce two boys. After Aleramo's death around the year 999, his second-born, Anselm I took his father's place as sole head of the entire Western Ligurian March. The first testimony of his succession is found in the foundational charter of the Abbey of San Quentin in Spigno where Anselm, son of the late Aleramo, is first mentioned as Marquis alongside his wife Gisla, daughter of Albert I of Milan. The same charter also mentions his nephews William III and Riprand, sons of his deceased brother Otto I.The Marches of Savona and Monferrat
Even after Anselm I's death, the sovereignty of the entire March was shared between his children and their junior cousins. The two lines ultimately established themselves in two distinct counties which became the center of their respective jurisdictional courts. The senior branch took seat in the Ligurian port of Savona, while the junior branch did so in the Piedmontese castle of Casale Monferrato, leading to the distinction of the Aleramids between the Anselmian Marquises of Savona and the Ottonian Marquises of Monferrat. Despite this nominal division, both branches continued sharing sovereignty over the entire March and effectively possessing fiefdoms in each other's jurisdictions at least until the 13th century.The abundant procreation of males amongst the Aleramids led to the continuous fragmentation of the original March, and the subdivision of both Marches into smaller jurisdictions presided by the different members of the lineage. The junior Ottonian branch was only divided into the Marches of Monferrat and Occimiano, while the Anselmian line initially formed the three extensive Marches of Savona, Bosco and Sezzadio. The Aleramids of Sezzadio soon became extinct, and their territory returned to their most immediate agnatic relatives of Savona and Bosco. By the 12th century, the surviving Anselmians had also distinguished their respective lines by the adoption of the surnames del Vasto and del Bosco. The senior Aleramids del Vasto formed the Marquisates of Savona, of Finale, Dego, Incisa, Loreto, Cortemilia, Ceva and Clavesana. The successive Marquises of Savona later abandoned the surname del Vasto and instead took the surname del Carretto. The junior Anselmian Aleramids del Bosco formed the Marquisates of Bosco, Ponzone, Albisola, Varazze, Ussecio and Pareto.
Influence across the Mediterranean
Despite their constant territorial division, the Aleramids managed to maintain control over the lower-half of the Piedmont and the Western flank of the Ligurian Bay, forming powerful alliances with other Italian ruling houses and even extending their alliances with further European dynasties.The senior branch of Savona gained notable influence during the 11th century through successive marriages with the Norman ruling dynasty of Sicily, the House of Hauteville. Firstly was the marriage between Odo the Good Marquis and Emma of Hauteville, shortly followed by that of Adelaide to Count Roger I of Sicily while her brother Enrico, married Flandina. As such, it was the senior Anselmian line of Savona the first to gain considerable influence in the Crusades, most notably through the leadership Tancred, Prince of Galilee, and later through the short queenship of his cousin Adelaide in Jerusalem. The Anselmians also augmented their territories in Northern Italy after the extinction of the Arduinids, inheriting the northern half of the March of Turin to the House of Savoy, and the lower half to the Aleramics. This territorial expansion, alongside the crusader links, allowed Boniface I del Vasto to marry the Capetian princess Agnes of Vermandois, daughter of Hugh I and granddaughter of King Henry I of the Franks.
File:Andronikos 1 Komnenos.jpg|thumb|290x290px|Andronikos I Komnenos ordering the murder of his cousin Maria Komnene and her Aleramid husband Caesar Rainier
File:Français 2629, fol. 296, Baudouin V couronné.jpeg|thumb|290x290px|Bailian of Ibelin carrying the Aleramid Baldwin V to his coronation as King of Jerusalem
The junior or Ottonian branch of Monferrato shortly followed their senior relative's involvement in the Crusades, also employing a strong marriage policy to augment their influence. At the time his cousin Adelaide was regent of Sicily, Rainier I of Monferrat secured his own marriage to Gisela of Burgundy, daughter of William I, and sister to Pope Calixtus II. Their son William V of Monferrat then married Judith of Austria, daughter of Leopold III and half-sister of Frederick II of Swabia and of Emperor Conrad III. This strong and consolidated insertion amongst Europe's foremost royal families allowed the marriage of Rainier II of Monferrat to Maria Komnene, oldest daughter of Eastern Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, obtaining for the first time the imperial title of Caesar, bestowed upon the appointed successors of the Imperial throne. The rebellion of Andronikos I Komnenos led to the assassination of his cousin Maria and the Caesar Rainier, ending the first Aleramid attempt at securing the Easter Roman Imperial throne.
File:Français 2824, fol. 173v, Mariage de Conrad de Montferrat et Isabelle de Jérusalem.jpeg|thumb|290x290px|Conrad's marriage to Isabella of Jerusalem
Rainier's brother, William the Longsword, later married Sybilla of Anjou, successor to her brother Baldwin the Leper's rights in the throne of Jerusalem. Conrad of Monferrat firstly married Theodora Angelina, sister of the then childless Emperor Isaac II Angelos, obtaining the proclamation of successor to Isaac's throne and given, like his brother, the imperial rank of Caesar. The harsh anti-Latin sentiment at the Imperial court and his brother Rainier's previous experience, led Conrad to flee Constantinople and arrive by surprise to the city of Acre, from where he launched a strong campaign against Saladin's troops. Conrad soon became the preferred leader of the crusaders and strongest opponent to Guy de Lusignan's controversial rule. He married Isabella I, effectively reigning over Jerusalem as King-consort, and then as elected-King in 1192, but assassinated shortly afterwards. His daughter Maria of Monferrat, successively became Queen of Jerusalem after the regency of her stepfather Aimery of Lusignan, becoming the last Aleramid to reign over Jerusalem in their own right. Her daughter, Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem became Holy Roman Empress after her marriage to Frederick II.
A fourth brother, Boniface I, was elected leader of the Fourth Crusade, effectively taking Constantinople from Alexios III in 1204 and founding the Latin Empire that said year. According to contemporary chronicles, Boniface was received by both the clergy and the Eastern Roman people as their new Emperor but was never crowned, having to face an internal rebellion that led to the crowning of Henry I of Flanders as first Latin Emperor, successively married to Agnes of Monferrat, Boniface's daughter, to ensure peace. Following the agreement Boniface managed to ensure his rights over the imperial territory of Thessalonica, and receiving the rank of King. He died shortly afterwards while confronting a raid of Bulgarian rebels. Adelasia or Azalaïs, sister of the previous, married her Anselmian cousin Manfredo II of Saluzzo, and became regent of Saluzzo until her grandson Manfred III's coming of age. Perhaps a sister or daughter of Boniface was Beatrice of Monferrat, firstly married to the Dauphin Guigues V of Albon, successively marrying her Anselmian cousin Henry I del Carretto, Marquis of Savona. Her grandson Guigues VI married another Beatrice of Monferrat, often confused with the previous.
Later that century, Yolande, Boniface's great-great-granddaughter, married Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, taking the Greek name of Irene, and effectively ruling over her paternal fiefdoms in Tessalonica under the title of Augusta. After the death of her brother John I in 1305, her son prince Theodore Palaiologos was appointed Marquis of Monferrat in contradiction of the Salic Law still practiced by the Aleramics until then. The succession was later confirmed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, who preferred to include a Byzantine prince amongst his subjects rather than to further the empowerment of an already subjected prince. A falsified charter in favor of John I was used by the Emperor to legitimize his decision.